Saturday, August 23, 2014

The Viper by Kele Moon ~ Blog Tour and Giveaway

Synopsis

Marcos Rivera is a fighter. A gang member. Someone who has seen the dark side of humankind and survived. He has lost family and gained enemies. He has stolen cars and destroyed hearts, stripping one for money and the other for pleasure. His past is haunted and his future is bleak.
Until her.
Katie Foster is a high school history teacher. Smart, strong, and sexy. She is a woman Marcos shouldn’t want. Shouldn’t touch. Shouldn’t love. He met her in Garnet, a backwards, hick town that’s the last place in the world he wants to be, but he finds himself going back for a taste of the forbidden.
Katie represents all that is good in the world, and Marcos knows he’s nothing but trouble for her perfect life. He fights and he screws. He commits crimes and he breaks the rules. He will never change and he will never escape his gang lifestyle.
Or can he?
What happens when two different people from two very different walks of life risk it all by giving into the passion that threatens to consume both of them? Can a woman who only knows how to play it safe give her heart to a man who lives hard and loves harder?
Will she survive The Viper?

Lisa’s Review

4 “¡Ay, caramba! Stars

The Viper is book one in Kele Moon’s new spin-off series entitled Untamed Hearts. Ms. Moon is an author that never really lets me down. Her books are always heart-felt, erotically sexy and highly enjoyable. This book most certainly fell into the “must read” category for me. “What happens when two different people from two very different walks of life risk it all by giving into the passion that threatens to consume both of them?” One night changes it all. Curious? Well, read this book to find out!

Katie Foster is a young woman who has essentially lived a boring and blasé life, playing it safe along the way. She is a high school history teacher in the town of Garnet and the most action she deals with comes from her ass-hat of an ex-husband who is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are officially divorced. One night is what it takes to irrevocably change Katie. She is rescued by a gorgeous and dangerous stranger when her car is struck and she gets badly injured. This one encounter with the mysterious stranger deeply impacts her. Katie finds herself boldly seeking out her white knight, taking more risks and, for the first time ever, truly living her life with her eyes wide open. She wants to experience it all. She wants to feel.

Marcos Rivera is as wild and dangerous as they come. He is an underground fighter, a thief, an ex-convict and is also a member of the Miami gang Los Corredores. Having lost family to violence, Marcos is no stranger to living and learning the hard way. He has made attempts to straighten his life out like his cousin Chuito has managed to do but his criminal ways are like a leech that simply won’t let go making it hard to move forward into clean living. The future is not something Marcos believes he will see. It is not something he looks forward to. That is until he visits his cousin who lives in Garnet and crashes directly into the life of an angel.

Marcos and Katie both know and understand that they are bad for one another. They come from vastly different worlds. Katie is all goodness and light while Marcos is all darkness, prison bars and violence. However, they both find themselves craving the forbidden. One taste is not enough. Marcos knows that nothing could ever become of him and Katie but that does not stop him from returning for more. The thief within wants to steal a little piece of her to keep with him when the darkness closes in. However, when their time is done, will Marcos be able to walk away? Can Katie let him go?

All in all, The Viper was a fantastic read and Kele Moon does a wonderful job taking us into the world of violent gangs and a small town in the middle of nowhere. This author has penned an incredibly romantic tale of love with two engaging characters who fight against the odds. Previous beloved characters make appearances and we are once again transported into a gritty fighter romance that this author seems to have perfected. I am definitely looking forward to more!

Series Reading Order

Excerpt

“You’re not exactly a ten, Katie.” Grayson laughed cruelly, reminding Katie
why she left to begin with. “No one is going to love you for your mind like I do,
not in this town. I’m your best option, and I don’t understand why you did this
to us.”

“I think she’s a ten,” a man called from behind them.

Goose bumps danced over Katie’s skin, and she wasn’t sure why until she
craned her neck to look toward the direction of the low, male voice. Her body
must have recognized what her mind hadn’t caught up with, because walking
over to them was Marcos Rivera. He was wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat,
but it was undeniably him. She could see the snake tattoo on his arm from there.

He looked larger than life in the late afternoon sun with those impossibly
broad shoulders and large, bunched biceps covered in tribal tattoos. She couldn’t
help but notice that every inch of him seemed wound tight and ready to jump—
like a tiger stalking prey. She blinked, understanding for the first time all those
warnings Jules had been leveling at her in regards to Marcos.

This wasn’t the kind, handsome angel from the crash site.

This Marcos looked deadly.

He took off his sunglasses when he stopped in front of them. His light gaze
rested on the steely grasp Grayson still had on her arm. “This is the part where
you let her go.”

“Excuse me?” Grayson huffed in that annoying superior voice of his that had
always embarrassed Katie when he used it in public, usually toward someone
parking their car or waiting on them at a restaurant. “This is my wife and—”

“Ex-wife,” Katie corrected before Grayson could finish. She was still staring at
Marcos in shock, unable to believe he was really standing there in front of her.
“What are you doing here?”

Marcos broke the dangerous staring contest he was having with Grayson. He
let his gaze run over her hotly for one long moment, making more goose bumps
dance over her arms. A small bit of the tension eased out of his powerful frame,
and the look in his beautiful eyes became warm just like she remembered. “I got
your messages.”

“My messa—” Katie cheeks heated when she realized what he was talking
about and her voice was a squeak of acknowledgement. “Oh.”

There was a quiet moment between them, one charged enough that Katie
was actually breathless to be in his presence again after so long. Strangely enough,
she could feel it off Marcos too. That electric fission of need so overwhelming it
actually showed on his face and translated into something tangible enough that
even someone as romantically challenged as Katie could sense it. As if
remembering they weren’t alone, Marcos cleared his throat and turned back to
Grayson, his eyes narrowed in warning once more.

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to insist you get your hands off her.” He eyed
Grayson’s hold on her arm pointedly. “Now.”

Author Bio

A freckle faced, redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of
a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives off pushing the
envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad
passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is
that, in love there are no rules and true love knows no bounds. So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it she’s lost in
her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark,
handsome, brooding hero who had infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to
keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the
oven he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida
with their three beautiful children who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal
parts–They wouldn’t have it any other way.

Giveaway

Kele is offering the following prizes for the tour wide giveaway. The giveaway is open
internationally and ends 08/31/2014 @ 11:59 PM CST.
1 x $25 Amazon or B&N gift card (winners choice)
5 x eBook copy from any of Kele's backlist including The Viper